Judge tosses options backdating lawsuit by Apple shareholders

The class action suit brought by shareholders against Apple over the stock …

Way back in January, Apple shareholders (including the New York City Employees' Retirement System) filed a class action suit against Apple. They alleged that the backdating of stock options violated securities laws, misled shareholders, and caused shares of AAPL to decline in value. Judge Jeremy Fogel issued his ruling yesterday, in which he granted Apple's motion to dismiss the case.

One of the main reasons the case was dismissed, according to the document seen by Ars, is that Apple's stock price has continued to rise. The suit claimed that the options backdating was directly linked to a decrease in the price of Apple stock, a statement that was easily refuted with a quick look at Apple's stock chart. There's some more complex legal language in the decision related to the fact that the overpayment of stock options in this case didn't injure the shareholders in any way, other than the dilution of shares associated with all stock options grants.

Although Apple's motion to dismiss was granted, the ruling does allow the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint if they'd like to further clarify how the stock options backdating directly injured them. The order also limits what type of claim the plaintiffs can include in any amended filing.

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